‘Only in God’s light is our path unbroken!’ Sarah said, looking at Avery in despair. ‘It was another message. The wall, clear the wall!’
Avery looked at Sarah in alarm and then moved to the wall and brushed away some of the dust. The light from the sun reflected brighter. Ruben joined the Irishman and they cleared the surface, as the sun dipped lower.
‘Quickly!’ Sarah said.
More of the dust sifted down. The floor, which had previously remained in shadow, was now lit up, as the wall reflected light down onto it from its slightly angled surface.
Sarah shielded her eyes and squinted against the glare, then looked down at her feet. She moved her shoe across the ground, pushing the sand-like dust into a pile and revealing clean stone beneath. ‘Oh, my God, it’s on the floor. It’s on the floor!’ she said. ‘Clear the floor!!’
Avery still brushed at the wall; he looked around. ‘What?!’
Sarah pointed at the floor. ‘Clear the floor! HURRY!!’
Major Lanter glanced at Avery and Ruben as they got to their hands and knees to clear away eons of rock dust.
‘Help us!’ Avery said.
Lanter stowed his weapon on his backplate, and his men did likewise, as they all helped to clear the floor. Free from being shot, Sarah joined them, with only Zinetti left watching her with suspicion.
‘There’s carvings under here!’ Avery said.
‘And over here,’ Ruben said.
On her hands and knees, Sarah reached out and dragged aside another pile of sand. More seconds passed and the sun dropped lower still, casting part of what they’d uncovered in a fast encroaching shadow.
‘Sarah, what do we do?!’ Avery said.
Sarah looked at what they’d revealed: a pictographic representation of the plateau, surrounded by pyramids. At their centre a host of towers reached skyward, from where the Anakim city had once soared to the heavens. But as the sun dropped lower and the carvings descended into shadow, Sarah saw the one thing she’d been hoping to see. She dived forward and slapped her hand down on a stone circle. The indentation had been carved into the rock at the centre of the enormous pictogram, where an image of a single Anakim woman raised her hands to the heavens.
‘Nothing’s happening,’ Avery said, crawling to her side as everyone else gathered around them.
The sun sank below the horizon, its final rays sending the shadow racing down the wall and plunging the carving into shadow.
The chance had gone, and as far as Sarah was concerned, so had their opportunity of ever opening the pyramid.
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Three
Sarah sat back and her shoulders slumped in defeat. ‘It’s over, we missed it.’
‘Then we come back tomorrow,’ Avery said.
‘What about the asteroid?’ Zinetti said, the Italian cardinal looking scared.
‘If Rome has become too dangerous when we return,’ Avery said, ‘we can take refuge at EUSB Superior and then catch the subterranean monorail back to EUSB Italia.’
Sarah shook her head. ‘Tomorrow won’t make any difference; this was the one day it would have worked. We’d have to wait another year to get the same sunlight, maybe a thousand years.’
‘And why’s that?’ Zinetti said.
‘Because today is the summer solstice, and not just any solstice, but the one that coincides with the constellations shown to me by Konstantin.’
‘That can’t be,’ Zinetti said, sounding confused. ‘The weather, it’s been like winter.’
‘It can and it is,’ Sarah said.
‘The seasons are still all over the place after the impact winter,’ Avery said. ‘You’ve lost track of time, my friend.’
Zinetti’s face flushed with anger at the perceived belittling.
‘How do you know it’s timed with the solstice?’ Avery said, turning back to Sarah.
She pointed at the pictogram, which had four smaller circles surrounding the one at the centre of the woman’s chest. ‘I’ve seen this before, on the frieze back at the dig site, and in Sanctuary as well. I never knew what it meant until now. The four smaller circles depict the Earth, while the circle at their centre is the sun.’
Sarah traced a line that ran up from the circular indent, through a smaller circle above and on into the centre of a pyramid. ‘This line represents the sun’s rays during the summer solstice, which intersects the Earth before entering the pyramid above it. The other three circles are the positions of the Earth during the winter solstice, and winter and summer equinoxes.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Avery said, ‘but you’re the expert.’
‘So, what now?’ Ruben said.
Lanter detached a hexagonal device from his armour. ‘We blast our way through.’
A distant sound echoed through the cave and everyone looked towards the exit.
‘What was that?’ Avery said.
Ruben slid back the cowl of his robe. ‘An explosion.’
Major Lanter strode to the cave entrance and was met by one of his thirty strong unit.
‘The camp has been attacked,’ said the Swiss guard.
Another massive explosion lit up the fading light, and then another and another.
Zinetti pushed his way to the fore. ‘Konstantin,’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘Take up defensive positions!’ Lanter shouted. He switched off the floodlights. ‘Red Alpha, protect the cardinals!’
The Swiss Guard lowered visors and shouldered weapons, while a unit of ten formed up around Zinetti and Avery, their visors glowing like single eyes in the fading light.
Nothing moved on the plateau, except wisps of smoke which spiralled up into the sky from the now decimated dig site.
The sound of a helicopter echoed off the nearby mountains, and soon after, the large red aircraft appeared over the ridge of the plateau’s escarpment.
Major Lanter pressed a button on his helmet and spoke in a rush of Italian.
Sarah heard a faint reply and watched the helicopter veer away from the dig site towards their pyramid.
‘Stay alert,’ Lanter said to the soldiers guarding the two cardinals.
The helicopter flew closer.
‘We’ll relocate to base camp,’ Lanter said to Avery, who nodded as the whir of rotors filled the air.
The pilot was now close enough for them to see and Ruben shouted a warning, but it was too late. The helicopter dived towards them and Sarah glimpsed two men fighting for control through the cockpit window.
Everyone turned and ran.
The whine of the aircraft’s turbines roared loud and the aircraft smashed into the mountainside below the cave. A huge fireball erupted into the sky and a shockwave threw Sarah to the ground.
♦
Black, acrid smoke swirled around the crash site and inside the cave Sarah staggered to her feet, while the screams of the injured and dying filled the air.
Major Lanter stood at the cave mouth barking out orders to his men, who tended to their wounded.
Sarah felt along the wall and emerged outside to find a black scar and fiery ruins spread across the mountainside in a scene of carnage.
‘How many injured?’ Sarah heard Avery say.
‘Three dead,’ Lanter told him. ‘Five in need of emergency care.’
‘Can we radio for help?’ Zinetti said.
Lanter shook his head. ‘Negative. They took out the campsite’s communications hub.’
Sarah saw a wounded guard struggling to remove his amour and she made her way through the wreckage to help him. As she tried to remove his breastplate, she happened to glance up the mountainside, which remained in sunlight near the peak. A hundred men in black robes stood framed against a twilight sky and at their centre strode the man who would see her dead.
Konstantin raised his sword aloft and screamed a battle cry, and the Knights of the Apocalypse streamed down the side of the mountain, drawn swords glinting in the fading light.
‘To arms!’ Zinetti shouted. ‘
To arms!!’
The remaining Swiss Guard took aim at the warriors bearing down on them and then unleashed their automatic weapons with a roar of gunfire. Sarah covered her ears as Konstantin’s men fell in droves, but then his knights were upon them and swords plunged into armour as hand-to-hand combat ensued. A knight came at Sarah and the soldier she was helping.
The Swiss guard drew his sidearm and shot him dead. ‘Go!’ he said to her as another knight rushed in.
The guard fired again and Sarah staggered back and ran for the cave, not knowing whether her saviour had lived or died.
A sword flashed towards her head and she ducked, just as more gunfire exploded around her. The Swiss Guard protecting the cardinals had regrouped at the cave entrance. The fighting intensified and Sarah somehow managed to get back inside the cave.
‘We’re surrounded!’ Zinetti said, panicking. ‘They’ll kill us all!’
Avery slapped his face. ‘Get a grip, you fool!’
Sarah realised Zinetti was right. She’d jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. There was no way out.
The darkness deepened outside and the Swiss Guard cast aside depleted guns and drew swords.
The ring of steel on steel rang out as the knights forced back the dwindling Swiss Guard. Sarah looked for Ruben, and glimpsed him through the crash site’s pall of smoke. He was carrying a man to safety as he fended off an attacker.
Frantic moments later he made it into the cave and lay down the man he’d just rescued.
The Swiss guard groaned in pain. ‘Take my sword.’
Ruben didn’t need telling twice; he drew the soldier’s blade and turned to fight.
Black-robed knights continued to fall, as they were no match for the armoured Swiss Guard, but by sheer weight of numbers Major Lanter and his men were forced back into the cave. Swordplay echoed around the walls and Sarah knew they were fighting a losing battle.
As hope faded, the light outside grew brighter and through the haze of death and destruction, Sarah saw the sun reappearing from behind a distant mountain.
The last rays of sunlight flared bright and then lanced between two of the farthest pyramids. The cave lit up with a golden hue and Sarah’s shock turned to hope; she ran to the pictogram.
A ruddy glow reflected onto the cave floor and she slammed her hand onto the circle, as the fighting continued to rage.
Avery joined her. ‘Is this it?’ he said. ‘Can you open it?’
‘I don’t know.’ Sarah pressed her hand harder against the circle, willing it to work.
‘Hurry!’ Zinetti said.
Sarah glanced back to see Konstantin in the midst of the action, his blade rising and falling as he swung it like a man possessed.
‘Why isn’t it working?!’ Zinetti said.
Sarah shook her head. ‘I don’t have the pendant. It won’t work!’
‘Sarah,’ Avery said, as the sunlight dimmed once more. ‘It’s now or never. You’re our only hope.’
Sarah closed her eyes as the sound of fighting grew ever closer. ‘Believe and succeed,’ she whispered. ‘Believe and succeed.’ Sarah opened her eyes and stared at the pictogram before her. ‘The circle is on her heart.’ She traced the circle’s outline, which resided in the Anakim woman’s chest.
‘Say your last words, monk,’ Sarah heard Konstantin say. ‘Your time has come!’
‘Say your last words,’ Sarah said. ‘That’s it! The gift of speech. That’s what it was trying to tell me. That’s what it was telling me all along! Misrak arak,’ she said, remembering her vision at the frieze. ‘Open your heart.’
It was too much of a coincidence. The giant had known all along what was going to happen, not because she’d witnessed Sarah’s future, but because she’d sent Sarah to do her bidding.
The shadow raced back down the wall as the sun set for the final time. More of the Swiss Guard fell and the fighting was almost on them.
Sarah closed her eyes again. ‘Misrak arak.’ She imagined her heart opening. ‘Misrak arak!’
Dust sifted down from above and Sarah looked up, mimicking the posture of the man in the carving. The ground beneath their feet shuddered and she said the words again. ‘MISRAK ... ARAK!!’
A tingle of energy rippled through her chest and the circle beneath her hand sank into the ground. A tremendous groan reverberated through the cave. The ground lurched and Sarah staggered to her feet.
Konstantin and his knights paused in their advance, as the ground continued to shake. The lull in fighting allowed Ruben, Major Lanter and the remnants of his Swiss Guard to regroup around Sarah and the two cardinals.
‘What’s happening?!’ Zinetti said.
The cave floor dropped two feet and Sarah grasped Ruben’s arm to maintain her footing.
More dust cascaded down from the ceiling. Rocks and stones clattered down around them and the floor continued to sink down into the depths, carrying the Vatican expedition away from the knights, who now looked down at them from above. Konstantin saw the danger and launched himself over the edge, as did twenty of his knights.
The leader of the Knights of the Apocalypse landed on his feet, as did some of his men, while those to jump last fell from a greater height, the loud cracks of ankles and legs snapping accompanied by screams of pain.
A dark abyss opened up between the platform of rock, which had sunk down into the pyramid, and the massive stone shaft that now towered high above it. But, despite the danger, two more knights leapt down from the cave above. One hit the edge of the descending platform and toppled into the pit and the second followed him down into the depths, his shrieks fading to nothing.
Zinetti put his foot against the shoulder of an injured knight and pushed him over the edge. The Italian cardinal’s look of glee was as disturbing as his victim’s scream.
The stone floor jolted to a stop with an almighty boom and the rain of debris from above slowed.
The Swiss Guard turned on their helmet flashlights and the Vatican party backed away from Konstantin and his men as they regrouped.
Silence fell and Sarah looked around at a vast antechamber, its detail lost in the gloom.
The Swiss Guard continued their retreat with swords raised and Konstantin followed, his men fanning out behind him.
He removed his hood, revealing the tattooed skin of his bald pate, which gleamed darkly in the half-light. He pointed his sword at Avery. ‘Your quest has failed, Your Eminence.’ His eyes shone with exultation. ‘No one is getting out of here alive.’
‘Then you’ll die, too,’ Avery said.
Konstantin smiled a chilling smile. ‘If it stops your Satanists ... so be it.’
One of Konstantin’s men removed his cloak to reveal a device strapped to his chest.
‘He’s got a bomb!’ Zinetti said.
The Swiss Guard surged forward, but the knights blocked their path. The clash of swords echoed off ancient walls and the man with the suicide vest ran back to the platform.
‘Stop him!’ Zinetti screamed. ‘STOP HIM!!’
Konstantin backed away from the fighting around him and his gaze turned to Sarah. He raised his arms aloft. ‘And God will set us free!’
Sarah’s eye widened in horror, as the knight with the bomb also raised his arms and screamed, ‘EGO SUM REX GLORIAE!!’
A flash of light engulfed the antechamber and with a roar like thunder, the blast tore through the pyramid.
Propelled backwards, Sarah slammed into a wall and darkness fell.
Stone cracked, rock collapsed and a cloud of dust erupted out of the mountainside and into the skies beyond.
Huge blocks of stone crashed down into the ancient cave and the screams of the Knights of the Apocalypse inside cut off to nothing as they were entombed within.
Their leader had achieved his goal and so had they. Sarah had failed, the Vatican’s quest was over, and with it the surface would burn.
Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Four
Washington D.C., the United States o
f America.
‘This is Kelly Brady reporting live from the Washington Monument, where just over an hour ago we witnessed a military strike at the heart of our nation.’ The camera panned round and zoomed in on the home of Congress, just over a mile away. ‘As you can see, the great dome of the United States Capitol lies in ruins. Reports are still coming in from eyewitnesses, but from what we’ve gathered so far, a military aircraft attacked and then flew into the dome.’
‘I’m sorry,’ the news anchor said to the reporter. ‘Did you just say flew into the dome?’
‘That’s what we’ve been told. Due to curfew, anyone who’d ventured out after dark is reluctant to come forward. However, we did find someone willing to risk a night in jail.’ The camera zoomed out to reveal a man standing next to the reporter. ‘Mr Jackson, can you tell us what you saw?’
An elderly man looked into the camera and then back at Kelly Brady. ‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said. ‘I thought I heard gunfire from my apartment and I went onto the roof to take a look at what was going on, and that’s when I saw it.’
‘Saw what?’
‘A military aircraft. It looked like it was part of the blockade they put up around the Capitol, but then all of a sudden it swerved towards the dome and then flew right into it.’
‘And what happened next?’
‘The dome collapsed and the airplane disappeared inside.’
‘It crashed?’
‘No, I think it flew down inside. It was one of those planes that can take off vertically.’
‘It flew into the dome?’ Kelly Brady looked sceptical. ‘Is that even possible?’
The man shrugged. ‘I guess it must be.’
‘And then what happened?’
‘There was a cloud of dust and more gunfire and then everything went quiet.’
‘Do you think the pilot crashed into the dome on purpose?’
‘I didn’t really think about it much afterwards. I was more interested in the light.’
Kelly Brady gave the camera a puzzled look. ‘What light?’
‘That light.’ He pointed up to the sky.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 113
